According to the latest information from the U.S. Census
Bureau, Americans are following the sun south and west with Florida’s scenic
Gulf Coast attracting a fair number of the new Sunbelt transplants. Census
figures show that Florida’s population is growing at a rate of approximately
560 new residents per day, surpassed only by Texas and California. Active
retirees are leading the Gulf Coast’s rally, drawn to Destin and South Walton
by the warm weather, comfortable lifestyle, beautiful beachfront properties and wealth of activities. But Baby Boomer retirees aren’t the only ones
swelling Destin’s population. The Gulf Coast’s population boom is also
attracting younger and middle-aged workers that, unable to find employment up
north, are turning entrepreneur and creating new lives in the Destin area as
small business owners.
For the past decade, the U.S. population has been shifting
southward as people have left the dying manufacturing centers and chilly
winters of the Northeast and Midwest to seek more inviting job opportunities
and warmer weather in the Sunbelt states along the country’s southern border.
The southern population explosion has become so pronounced that it has forced a
redefinition of America’s “Sunbelt” to include a second tier of states that
girdle the American South from North Carolina to Nevada. Ranked Nos. 1, 2 and
4, respectively, in total population, Texas, California and Florida have been
the big winners in America’s southern population shift.
With 19.1 million residents, Florida is poised to wrest the No. 3 spot from New York (19.5 million residents within the next 5 years if population migration continues at the current pace. That's good news for Destin home sellers [http://www.gulfcoastrealestatesales.com/selling.php] as the steady stream of new residents will provide an excellent market for Destin home sales.
